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More than 60,000 people attended UNICERA 2008,
which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year.
Adnan Polat, president of the Turkish Ceramics
Federation, discusses the history and future of the Turkish ceramic industry at
the opening ceremony of UNICERA 2008.
The show opened with remarks by Bulent Unal, chairman of the board of directors of Tuyap Fair; and Serdar Yalcyn, chairman of the executive board of Tuyap Fair, followed by additional remarks from Adnan Polat, president of the Turkish Ceramics Federation. In his address, Polat gave a condensed history of the Turkish ceramic industry, highlighting its enormous growth, which has been mirrored by the growth of the UNICERA fair.
“In 1972, total output was not even 1 million square meters,” Polat noted. “Now we produce 360 million square meters of floor tiles and 23 million pieces of sanitary ware,” Polat said.
One of the standout designs at UNICERA 2008 was
the new Ottoman series from Toprak, which utilizes a new technology
to bond actual fabric to the tile during the glazing process, resulting in a
fuzzy texture that remains durable even after cleaning.
“In the United States, we are more focused on the commercial market,” said Konca Calkivik, marketing manager for Vitra, which introduced 30 new series at the show, including a new mosaic design system that allows any image to be converted into a mosaic.
Kalebodur’s new Orientile series features an unusual
octagonal format that allows the user to create different color combinations.
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